Highlights
- Sonic Frontiers is set to release its highly anticipated third DLC update titled "The Final Horizon" on September 28th, featuring a brand-new story and playable characters including Amy, Knuckles, and Tails.
- The update will likely include new challenges similar to previous updates, adding depth and replayability to the game. The reward for completing the challenge mode is unknown, but it could possibly involve accessing Super Sonic in new areas.
- Players should expect a substantial update that matches or exceeds the previous updates in terms of content, which offered new Koco, quality of life improvements, and additional music for the game's Juke Box.
Sonic Frontiers made a surprising appearance at Gamescom Opening Night Live to warn players in advance that the highly anticipated third DLC update is coming soon. It was revealed with a stunning promo trailer right after the upcoming classic 2D side scrolling Sonic Superstars announced its release date, almost giving viewers whiplash as cute and whimsy was replaced with dire scenery where the blue blur leads friends and even enemies into battle.
While Sonic Superstars is set to hit shelves in October, the final Sonic Frontiers update is planned to roll out to all players on September 28. While a few key details about what's been titled "The Final Horizon update" have been known from the start, the trailer smashes any fan expectations on its way out as it teases things from a strange new titan boss fight to a brand-new stronger Super Sonic transformation and unexpected new details.
What's Known About Sonic Frontiers' Third Update
Fans knew about The Final Horizon beforehand as it was a key part of Frontiers' DLC roadmap that was revealed just short of a month after the game's launch. On the roadmap itself, the third update was said to feature a brand-new story while also bringing new playable characters to Sonic Frontiers. This announcement put particular focus on Amy, Knuckles, Tails, and Sage, which led many to speculate just how many of them would get the same treatment as Sonic himself.
The first Sonic Frontiers update leaked the truth to this question fairly early on, however, as dataminers were able to find files sought to make Tails, Amy, and Knuckles playable. This means that Sage being placed on the teaser image for the third update likely implies that she'll play a large role in The Final Horizon's story, which is understandable after Frontiers' ending and true ending.
What to Expect from Sonic Frontiers' The Final Horizon Update
Now that players know more about the final DLC update, it's made evidently clear that The Final Horizon will have more content than fans originally expected. While it's reasonable that fans could think that the time that players would get to spend with these new playable characters would run short, but the Final Horizon trailer seems to tease that Sonic will need his friends to defeat The End once and for all as it's possessing a new titan of some kind. According to a Japanese press release, playing as Tails, Knuckles, and Amy may lead to a new ending of the base game.
A new detail about the third DLC was revealed that states it'll add "new challenges" alongside everything else. These challenges are likely the same as those added in previous updates, such as the Open-Zone Challenge, Battle Rush, and Cyber Space Challenge. All three of these modes gave players a lengthy - and fittingly-named - experience that took time to master in order to unlock new features such as Sonic's Spin Dash. It isn't known what The Final Horizon's challenge mode will be like, but it'll likely come with its own reward for S Rank completionists.
However, it's hard to say just what this reward may be, as players can already Spin Dash and Power Boost to their hearts' content in Extreme Difficulty once all the challenge modes currently in the game have been cleared. There is one avenue that the game can go with, though, and that would be making Super Sonic accessible on the islands where fans have collected all the Chaos Emeralds, including the new blue-eyed form revealed in the trailer.
No matter what reward awaits players at the end of The Final Horizon and its challenge mode, fans should prepare themselves for a sizable update that matches the other two, if not bigger. All the updates added new Koco, quality of life improvements, and even more music for Sonic Frontiers' Juke Box. While the third update will likely focus on the playable characters and story, there will probably be tons of new things for players to discover once it arrives.
Sonic Frontiers is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
